PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) — Vilified, threatened with violence and in some cases burned out, dozens of state and local public health officials around the country have resigned or have been fired amid the coronavirus outbreak, a testament to how politically combustible masks, lockdowns and infection data have become.
The Biden Administration will welcome you.
Hang tight!
“Let us die, experts! Stop knowing stuff!”
Wake me up when we’re great again.
“As of Monday, confirmed infections in the United States stood at over 5 million, with deaths topping 163,000, the highest in the world.”
Vlad, chuckling: “Without firing a single shot…”
(h/t Nikita Khrushchev)
You would never guess now that this country became the first to put a man on the moon just a few decades ago. How low the mighty have fallen…it’s no wonder, as Fintan O’Toole recently noted, that the world has begun to pity the United States.
Which is how you know that we actually put a man on a soundstage in New Mexico.
Imagine studying your entire life, from high school through med school and on to focus on the health of the people around you, in many cases working for far less than your peers, and being spit on, cursed, and dismissed by an asswipe who has no idea what he’s talking about.
Yeah, I’d see the burnout. Even with a Biden administration coming in it isn’t going to change the stupidity of the average American. That’s got to be frustrating.
ETA: I’m one of those ridiculous people, as I’m sure many here are, who follow history down its byways to find stuff beyond wars and the rise and fall of kings. I was aware of the Spanish flu years ago and wondered how so many people could ignore the evidence in front of their own eyes. Yes, like life, history is lived forward and understood backward. But we knew this was going to happen. We have evidence from as little as 75 years ago! Maybe, like the end of liberal Western-style modes of governing, we’ve lost a generation that knows what it’s like to go into isolation because of polio or flu. Maybe we need this so we can be the example of what not to do for the next generation.
This is indeed a sad state of affairs that will hurt Americans, even those too stupid to realize it, possibly for decades to come.
We live in a time where expertise is devalued and denigrated, while selfishness is excused, even accepted.
So long as Trump is president and the R’s in the Senate have an ability to veto any constructive legislation, our response to the pandemic will continue to be turmoil.
In the absence of a unified national response to this thing, local officials will only be able to break even on a response, even when doing their very best. It must be heartbreaking for anyone with a sense of social responsibility (anyone want to have a few beers with some of their friends riding back from Sturgis this week? – I’ve been a motorcycle rider for 50+ years and it is frustrating to see how destructive these folks are being, both to themselves and others).
It must be so exhausting and disheartening. People are attacking and threatening the experts, scientists, and doctors who are trying to keep them alive and healthy.
I am especially proud of and grateful for Pennsylvania’s Secretary of Health, Dr. Rachel Levine. I would not blame her if she did quit, but luckily for Pennsylvanians she is strong, is guided by her sense of duty, and has the unwavering support of Governor Wolf.
Levine has been the subject of criticism for policies restricting business and other activities during the coronavirus pandemic. As one of the few openly transgender public officials in the country, she has also been the target of persistent transphobia.
“Dr. Levine is laser-focused on assisting Pennsylvanians in the midst of a national pandemic,” Department of Health Press Secretary Nate Wardle said in response to the latest incident. “She does not have time for this nonsense.”
The Human Rights Campaign, a LGBTQ civil rights organization, came to Levine’s defense, releasing a statement that dubbed Ellis a “bigot.”
“Jenna Ellis is a bigot and Dr. Levine is a patriot — plain and simple. Dr. Levine illustrates character and patriotism while Ellis cannot even define those terms,” said the statement from HRC President Alphonso David. “Using a person’s pronouns is a basic level of respect. Despite claims of allyship, Donald Trump, Mike Pence and their staff have gone out of their way to dehumanize and attack transgender and non-binary people simply for existing.”
Not just that.
With Trump’s removal, qualified people will have a home.
At all levels.
Ooh, are we referring to “Capricorn One,” CT? One of my favorite old cheesy movies? Co-starring OJ? A must-see!
Many of the firings and resignations have to do with conflicts over mask orders or social distancing shutdowns, she said. Many politicians and ordinary Americans have argued that such measures are not needed, contrary to the scientific evidence and the advice of public health experts.
“It’s not a health divide; it’s a political divide,” Freeman said.
No, it’s a health divide. The politicians and others arguing against masking and other measures are opposed to the health of the American public.
I really hope that they are recording the names of those who aided in the deaths of thousands of our fellow citizens.
All of us scientists have run into this in the past few years…identify yourself as a scientist and defend the science on some topic the right wing has politicized and you’ll get attacked too. They re vicious, personal, and unwarranted…the science is clear, but the politicians have lied about it for their benefit and engendered huge anger in their base. It’s now making people take action against their own best interests for the gains of the politicians…and it’s killing people as readily as the cigarette companies did with their science denialism.
The root of this problem goes deep, and it’s going to be difficult to dig out…it’s also absolutely necessary, the nation can’t function if it denies science, doing so will result in death and destruction on an even worse scale than we’re already seeing now.
Donnie must be so proud.
I am really sorry about this. Yeah these are extremely tough times that are demanding a lot from all of us. It would be easier by far if we weren’t fighting each other - that’s how we die on so many levels.
The word hero has gotten perverted in this century but these are times that demand that everyone reach inside themselves for the heroic. To be bigger, not smaller.
Everyone is tired, but everyone is also needed. Especially health care workers.
Could have noted the irony of Saint-Ronnie’s faithfuls cheering this on as MAGA.
She has our governor’s full support. And he’s ignoring the fools and posers from the backwoods who ignore every bit of advice. Doing well for the citizens who give a damn. Unfortunately too many are lost.
I especially love that OJ’s character gets killed off so early in the film!